Coni’s Perseverant Prayer

The following testimony comes to us from our Local Church Initiative partners at El Faro. It is the remarkable story of a 49 year old woman, Coni; her family’s struggle and determination to survive, and how God has answered her prayers.

15 years ago, due to living in extreme poverty, the Gutierrez Sanchez family moved to a place close to the Managua Lake, better known as “La Chureca.” They made their living by collecting recyclable materials in the dump and selling them for a small profit. There were 10 people in the Gutierrez Sanchez family – five adults and five children. One of the adults is mentally disabled. Despite their challenges, the family worked together to survive.

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When the Nicaraguan government (along with Spain) built 300 homes for the families of the dump, to form a new community known as Villa Guadalupe, circumstances changed for the family. The family got a home and was promised a job at the new recycling plant, but they did not receive the work needed to make an income. So the family made a new way of getting an income by recollecting large used bags (that often held rancid food). They had to clean the dirty bags with chlorine and then resell them for 2 cords each (about $0.07 each). They barely had enough money for food.

Villa Guadalupe Community Street

Concepcion (Coni), the matriarch, had been praying to God for over a year to help her family provide food for their home. Just recently, some members of El Faro church visited her. They asked her if she would consider using her home as a feeding center where the kids that live close by could go to receive their lunch. She saw this as an answer to her prayers and willingly opened her home.

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Today Coni is currently serving around 60 children lunch from her home, and it guarantees that her family has food as well. Realizing that He heard her prayers caused Coni to reconcile with God and accept his call upon her life – to be a disciple for His children. She feels she’s been called to grow the capacity of the lunch program to serve the other hungry children in Villa Guadalupe.

We asked Coni where does she see herself in five years, she answered:

“There are some children that only get one meal per day and sometimes they get none. I want to get involved so much that we will be able to open more feeding centers and serve more children and serve God as well. In five years I hope I am still serving God because he has changed my life.”

It’s hardly possible to contain all the emotion and feelings we got when hearing her story. What is left for us now is join Mrs. Sanchez in her exciting dream to become a complete server of God.

~ El Faro Ministry Team

Hillier Ignite Youth Award Winners!

Our orphanage partners exist to rescue kids that are literally trapped in the cycles of poverty, kids that have been abandoned or abused, and provide them with a safe environment where they can prosper and become the person that God has created them to be.

One major barrier that children stuck in the cycle of poverty face is that they often have little or no opportunity for education. Virginia Beach entrepreneur, Luke Hillier, has seen first-hand how ORPHANetwork is investing into the education of our children through six orphanage partners in Nicaragua.  

Along with his employees from ADS, Inc., and many of his family and friends, Luke has made numerous trips down to Nicaragua to serve our children and engage in our work. He recently said this about his involvement, “I’ve had the chance to see and hear the dreams of the children cared for by ORPHANetwork. In addition to providing for basic needs, we are focused on the work we are doing with ORPHANetwork to provide core job skills. The idea is to help these young people transition to a productive life and put them on the path to freedom and independence that comes from securing a good job. For these children this is a second chance at life.”

Hillier Ignite is a non-profit organization that Luke founded in 2013 to promote democracy and freedom by creating economic opportunity. Luke is “fired up to give these children the opportunity to succeed and flourish,” so much so, that ORPHANetwork is the proud recipient of the Inaugural Hillier Ignite Youth Award!

Check out this video featuring Luke and his fiancee Stephanie presenting the award and the $100,000 check to Ted Wille, our Board of Directors Chairman.

The Ignite Youth Award is accompanied by unrestricted grant of $100,000 which will be used for the children’s health care needs, nourishing meals, education, and it gives our partners at Hogar de Fe the potential to rescue up to seven new children into the home this year. National Program Director, Tom Weiglein expressed, “…the grant will go a long way towards ensuring that the children growing up at the home will have an environment that allows them to thrive.”

More about Hillier Ignite:

Hillier Ignite’s mission is to promote democracy and freedom by creating economic opportunity.  Ignite’s work currently focuses on three groups of people who are pivotal to our future success as a society: entrepreneurs, youth, and our military – active duty military, veterans, and their families.

Through programs that encourage, educate, and nurture these groups, Ignite helps to create economic opportunities through the development of successful new businesses, good jobs, and a qualified workforce that contribute to a strong democracy.  Ignite tells their stories, provides inspiration and motivates others to lend a hand.

You can also read the article featured in the Virginian Pilot Beacon highlighting the Inaugural Hillier Ignite Youth Award and ORPHANetwork.

We could never thank you enough Hillier Ignite!

Here’s a video of Luke’s last trip down to Nica: